Jinxed
by xteshy
Summary: Bluik and Driba's attempt to de-de-age both Rook and Ben presents some unexpected side-effects.
1. Chapter 1

_Hey! This is the first fan fiction I have written and uploaded so any and all reviews, especially the ones pointing out mistakes (since this story lacks a beta), are more than welcome.  
I'm not quite sure where I'm going with this story, but it takes place a few days after the de-aging episode, but here Ben and Rook didn't manage to bring themselves back to normal, which left it up to Bluik and Driba to fix it. A recipe for disaster, I know.  
As for trigger warnings, the only one that will be present throughout the story will be body dysphoria. Other trigger warnings will be added as the story progresses. _

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Ben stood impatiently as Bluik and Driba worked loudly on the machine, his face containing a look too sour for its young age.  
He tapped his foot lightly on the concrete floor, arms crossed, eyeing the two grey aliens as they fought for who got to assemble the last piece.  
"Today would be great." Ben gritted out, his high pitched voice leaving an imaginary, yet still uncomfortable, buzzing in his ears.  
"We're almost done revving it up!" squeaked Driba, shoving his hand towards Bluik's face as he made an attempt to fit the piece in its rightful place.  
A shove and a grunt later, both aliens were down, rolling and yelling, the piece left on the floor, forgotten.  
Rook sighed loudly behind Ben, making his presence known to the other boy.  
"Didn't see you there buddy, you practicing your sneak attack skills or something?" Ben said as he turned his attention to Rook.  
"Hardly." Rook said as he stepped forward "I came here to check on the progress of the de-de-aging machine, and it would seem there has been none."  
"There is literally one piece left for it to be up and running, but they've been too busy fighting over who gets to assemble it to, y'know, actually assemble it!" Ben said as he waved at the spectacle in front of them.  
"That is something that is easily resolved, is it not?" Rook said, lifting an eyebrow at Ben as he took hold of the piece in question.  
Ben grinned and discreetly stepped back (you could never be too cautious around Bluik and Driba's contraptions), watching as Rook silently slid the piece in its slot.  
Immediately the machine started rumbling and the sounds coming from the two grey aliens' fight ceased.  
"Dang it Driba! If you would've let me finish building the machine-" Bluik started.  
"Are you guys going to turn me back or what?" Ben interrupted, his frustration loud and clear.  
The last couple of days had been absolutely horrid, so saying Ben was in a mood was severely downplaying it.  
This whole situation irritated him to no end.  
Most people wouldn't dislike being stuck as their 10 year old self as much as Ben did. Most people would think he was being silly, or that he was over-reacting.  
Ben didn't really care what those people thought, he just wanted to get his older body back as soon as possible.  
His current body brought back too many memories of how things, mainly Ben himself, were before he...  
Before.  
He didn't like those memories, and he didn't like this body. He wanted to get rid of it quickly. To get his 16 year old body back.  
So, as soon as Rook stepped back, Ben stepped into the machine's platform an let Bluik and Driba plug him in.  
He was excited, to say the least. He didn't even notice grandpa Max entering the room, right before a bright light took his eyesight from him for a couple of seconds. He blinked a few times and stood up. He felt taller. From the corner of his eye he could see his reflection in the small bathroom mirror that was hung on the wall. He turned to it grinning.  
"Long time no see." he said, winking at his reflection.  
The sound of his regular voice made him grin wider.  
He had missed this.  
He stepped out of the machine and leaned on the table next to grandpa. He gave him a curt nod and got a smile in return and, unable to help himself, he quickly smiled back.  
"Your turn little guy." Ben said, pointing at Rook, who swatted at his tail a couple of times before answering.  
"I am 2 year your senior, Ben." came the dry reply, to which Ben simply shrugged.  
Ben smiled again, still feeling giddy, as he watched Rook step on the platform, Bluik and Driba repeating the process of plugging him in.  
As soon as Rook was de-de-aged, everything would get back to normal and they'd go back to plumber business in no time.  
Ben is pretty sure that single thought was what jinxed it.

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_Sorry this one is so short, I just wanted to get this part over and done with as quickly as possible. Next chapter will be longer!_


	2. Chapter 2

After being temporarily blinded, Rook blinks and looks back at himself, smiling as he silently confirms that he has been successfully zapped back into adulthood. He looks back up as he begins stepping out of the machine's platform, opening his mouth to speak.

Almost immediately a furry appendance slams into his mouth, successfully silencing him. He grabs it confused, and stares at it in disbelief. It was, indeed a tail. His tail. That happened to still be connected to his body.

Whilst Rook busied himself with holding his own tail, a confused and perplexed expression on his face, Ben was having trouble breathing, having doubled over laughing the moment he spotted the fluffy appendage.

"Wha- what, why is it… Why is it l-longer? And… Fluffier?" Rook begins mumbling to himself, still with his tail in hand.

He tries to take a step forward, which springs Bluik and Driba into action.

"Rook no don't move!" Driba squeaks, rushing to Rook's feet, quickly followed by Bluik.

"What? Can I at least-" Rook stammers at them.

"No you can't even move a little bit to get your tail out of your face." Bluik immediately counters.

"It might compromise your health or cause an explosion!" Driba adds.

As the two grey aliens work around Rook, who was doing his best to stand perfectly still, grandpa Max, who had been silent throughout the whole ordeal, chimes in.

"Do you think Ben suffered similar mutations?" He looks at Ben, who had been silently giggling at Rook's embarrassment, quirking his eyebrow.

"We might need to run some tests to make sure." Driba responds.

An alarm goes off in grandpa Max's brain, and he turns back to Driba.

"No I think this should better be left with Ben's doctor."

At this point Ben has stopped laughing, choosing to instead wring his hands and stare nervously at grandpa.

"You don't think that-" he starts before quickly cutting himself off, looking around and noting that all four of the room's occupants are staring at him. Max sighs, and turns to look at Ben, trying to silently reassure him, before turning back and offering a quick "Excuse us for a moment gentlemen."

He pats Ben on the shoulder, leading him outside the room.

"Keep running tests on Rook, see if you can come up with new data about his current state." Max says, sternly, before closing the door behind them.

As soon as Ben hears the door click, he lets out a shaky breath, staring down at his feet.

"I don't feel different." He starts slowly. "I feel like I always feel, I mean, right now I'm a bit dizzy, but that's normal right? Right. I mean, I look exactly the same and I sound exactly the same and- So it- It couldn't possibly be-"

"Ben, breathe." Grandpa says, taking hold of Ben's face. "Look at me Ben." He wait until Ben averts his gaze from the floor, onto his own. Ben let's out another shaky breath. "It's going to be okay Ben. We are going to see your doctor as soon as possible and there will be nothing wrong with you. And even if there is something wrong with you, something regarding your-"

"D-Don't say it out loud, please. There could be someone listening." Ben whispers.

"Regarding your, uh, medical status, we will fix it. You have one of the planet's best doctors when it comes to these things, there is nothing you have to worry about. You just need to breathe, and stay calm. Can you do that for me Ben?"

Ben nods slowly, and grandpa wraps his arms around him, rubbing his back and letting Ben rest his head on his shoulder. Ben hugs him back and they stay like that for awhile, while Ben calms down.

"You good to go kiddo?" grandpa says as he ruffles Ben's hair.

"Y-yeah." Ben lets out shakily.

"Do you want to stay here or go back inside while I make a few calls?" grandpa offers as he steps back, breaking their hug.

"I think I'll go back inside. Y'know, poke fun at Rook and his ridiculously fluffy tail." Ben says, smiling lightly at grandpa, who returns the smile tenfold.

"Alright, talk to you in a few buddy." Grandpa says as he opens the door, letting Ben through. "Wait, Ben." He says, as Ben walks past, grabbing his shoulder. "I'm proud of you."

Ben smiles widely at this. "Thanks grandpa."

They bid their goodbyes, yet again, and Ben closes the door. Grandpa Max stays there for awhile, leaning on said door and thinking things through.

As Ben makes his way back into the room, he lays his eyes on Rook, who is standing comically still, and obviously straining something, is the grimace he's sporting is anything to go by. He can't help but break out laughing yet again, quickly making his way towards the table, looking for anything that might support his weight, because he feels like his legs are going to buckle because of how hard he's laughing.

Rook glares at him as best as he can considering the fact that he has his back almost completely facing Ben, and two small aliens running around at his feet.

Ben composes himself and grins when he spots Rook's glare. Honestly, he's just glad there's none of the uncomfortable and questioning silence he feared and expected. He pulls up a chair and enjoys the show, and if Rook's tail swats at his face a couple of times, he doesn't really complain much.

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_Uh… I know I said next chapter would be longer and… It's slightly longer? _

_Also woo! Two updates in a day. Don't expect it to happen again tho, I'm currently on vacation so that enables updates to be faster, but it's just for a couple of days._


End file.
